Service is the best!!

Hola y'all! 

This week has been fantastic!  Monday we had a Zone P-day and we all met up at the Institute building in Downtown Austin, and we played a bunch of different games, had a ping pong tournament, played pool, air hockey, and foosball!  I won the ping pong tournament! (Thanks to my uncle Michael for teaching me those ping pong skills) It was a lot of fun!  

On Tuesday we spent all afternoon at Joe and Gena's house helping them move in from California.  They were referrals given to us from one of our members (who are their neighbors).  After a while of unpacking and talking, Gena started asking us questions, which lead to us sitting on her stairs and talking about Joseph Smith and the first vision.  She was so interested and said "can y'all come back again next week?"  Of course we said yes and we can't wait to go by tomorrow! 

After that we headed over to Pricila's house and we watched the restoration video with her and her daughter Vileria (who is 10 years old). They both were so happy at the end of the video and said "we believe Joseph Smith was a prophet".  Pricila prayed for the first time with us and the spirit was so strong!  Then Vileria wanted to pray too so she did, and then the spirit was even more strong!  Vileria gave us a hug and thanked us for making their day (so cute). Then we spent the next couple hours helping her box up some more things so she could start moving into her new apartment this week! (She now has a GORGEOUS view of the Lake!)  

Throughout the week we did lots of service for some of our members.   We went by the Riddles' again this week (who are less active). We helped them unpack more things and do some yard work for them.  Sister Riddle was so happy when it was all done that she decided to buy pizza and ice cream to celebrate!  We shared a message with them and their 14 year old son Gavin was able to join us.  

We had a busy week going by lots of less actives/potentials homes.  We had some really good lessons!  One day we were trying to find a less active member's house and because her address wasn't correct in our area book we were on a finding adventure!  We were walking in the rain for about 45 minutes trying to find this house.  When we were about to give up we decided to try one more house to see if it was her.  We knocked on the door and a woman answered!  She said "I was just thinking I'd call the missionaries to come and visit me!"  It was Josie Campbell (the one we were looking for - miracle)!  She is such a fun loving woman!  She has had a lot of health problems so she hasn't been able to come to church for a little while!  We had a good visit with her and we left with big smiles on our faces because we knew the Lord lead us to her and she really needed to visit with us!  We had many miracles like that throughout the week and I know it was by the guidance of the Holy Ghost that we were lead to them! 

I had an experience this week that will always stay with me!  We were heading home one day after working ourselves to death in the hot sun!  I felt a strong spiritual impression to go by Brian Palmer's house (a man that just showed up to our church a couple weeks ago but we haven't been able to contact him by phone).  Well I followed that impression and we went by his house.  When we knocked on his door a woman answered and it was his sister. We introduced ourselves to her and she informed us that Brian wasn't home.  We continued to try to talk to her when she said she wasn't interested and shut the door in our face.  I walked away thinking how come I got such a strong feeling to go over there if Brian wasn't even home and his sister really wanted nothing to do with us.  I thought about it for awhile and questioned that maybe God was just seeing if I would follow the prompting.  I thought maybe Brian's sister would maybe accept the gospel in her life one day and we just planted a seed for her.  I've learned that it is so important to always follow spiritual promptings even if you don't know why.  I may never know what the outcome will be for Brian's sister but I do know that we were lead there for a reason and I do know that our Heavenly Father has great love for her and her family!  

I want to end this email by sharing something I read this week by Henry B. Eyring on families!

The Hope of Eternal Family Love
By President Henry B. Eyring
First Counselor in the First Presidency

Of all the gifts our loving Heavenly Father has provided to His children, the greatest is eternal life (see D&C 14:7). That gift is to live in the presence of God the Father and His Beloved Son forever in families. Only in the highest of the kingdoms of God, the celestial, will the loving bonds of family life continue.  All of us hope for the joy of living in loving families. For some of us, it is a feeling we have not experienced--a feeling we know is possible but have not yet realized. We may have seen it in the lives of others. For others of us, family love has seemed more real and precious when death has separated us from a child, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, or a loving and beloved grandparent.  We have all felt the hope that someday we could feel again the warm affection of that family member we loved so much and now ache to embrace again.  Our loving Heavenly Father knows our hearts. His purpose is to give us happiness (see 2 Nephi 2:25). And so He gave the gift of His Son to make possible the joy of family bonds that continue forever. Because the Savior broke the bands of death, we will be resurrected. Because He atoned for our sins, we can, by our faith and repentance, become worthy of the celestial kingdom, where families are bound together in love forever.

AMEN!

I hope y'all have a wonderful week!!!  AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL THOSE STARTING SCHOOL!!!!

Con Amor, 

Hermana Mann